New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is the only event celebrated by the entire world.

New Year's Day shows the influence of: Christianity; the Church; and the state.

"A.D." always goes before the year. It stands for Anno Domini, which is Latin for "in the year of our Lord.

We got together at my brother's house and had a small New Year's Eve celebration. It was a snowy night and bad for driving. We couldn't even park in his driveway because we couldn't get up the incline. When I came back from picking up my youngest son from his party I parked about 15 feet up the driveway. A short while later someone knocked on the door. The car had slid out into the street and was blocking the street. We left shortly after at about 2:00 a.m.

London

My oldest son is in London with his high school choir for the International Choir Festival. Today they go on their bus tour and one of the stops is the Tower of London

Head In The Clouds

We watched the DVD "Head In The Clouds."

Synopsis

Bohemian aristocrat Gilda Bessé (Charlize Theron) shares hedonistic adventures with her lover Guy (Stuart Townsend) and a close friend, Mia (Penélope Cruz). Gilda exists in a glamorous cocoon of wealth and pleasure as fascism and resistance movements battle for power in pre-World War II Europe outside the doors of her Paris apartment. When war erupts in Spain, Guy and Mia follow their consciences to fight the Fascists while Gilda stays behind entertaining and bedding Nazis. Opposing ideals and the horrors of war ultimately separate the friends, but love allows their destinies to collide one last time.

Bean

We watched "Bean The Movie."

Synopsis

Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) is an eccentric caretaker working for the British national gallery in London, England. Mr. Bean is going to get fired by the museum's board of directors because he doesn't do his job and all he does is sleep. Instead the board instead decides to send Mr. Bean to Los Angeles, where David Langley, curator of a museum in downtown L.A. has requested that the board of director's of the British national gallery sends a art scholar to talk about their latest purchase, the famous painting "Whistler's Mother" which military officer General Newton (Burt Reynolds) has donated to the museum, at a opening conference. But Mr. Bean's arrival in Los Angeles causes mayhem as David invites Mr. Bean to stay with his family and begins causing problems for David's marriage. Mr. Bean doesn't know anything about paintings and although they think he is a brilliant, eccentric art scholar, he really isn't the right man to protect the painting as his behavior threatens the painting itself.

Be The Change

"Be the change you want to see in the world" - Ghandi

Leaving For London

We went to the high school to see our oldest son off to London. His bus left at 2:30 pm. It was snowy outside and the flight was only delayed a short time. He is going for one week with the choir for the International Choir Festival. He will be singing at St. Mary's Cathedral and Westminster Cathedral. He will also get tours of London, Windsor Castle, Leed's Castle and Canterbury. It will be a busy week.

Magic City

I finished reading "Magic City" by James W. Hall.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A novel based on real events and newly declassified documents, Magic City is to Miami what L.A. Confidential and Chinatown were to Los Angeles. It evokes a time in our nation’s history when powerful men were willing to do whatever they thought necessary to achieve their goals. A simple black and white photograph taken during the 1964 Cassius Clay-Sonny Liston fight on Miami Beach may hold the key to a horrific, politically-motivated crime forty-two years earlier. After it suddenly appears on display at a trendy Miami gallery opening, the photograph is burned in an act of arson that sets off a modern-day murder spree, reaching from the quiet neighborhoods of Miami to the back corridors of the White House. What the killer didn't know is that there is one remaining copy. When it falls into Thorn’s hands, he and everyone he loves become the target of madmen and trained killers, each of whom has his own powerful motive to see the photograph destroyed forever and its mysteries kept hidden. To find retribution for the death of a loved one, Thorn joins forces with a dangerous enemy to solve a maddening puzzle. At its center are two families from very different worlds with their own dark secrets. Unraveling this dangerous riddle shakes the foundation of his bond with both Alexandra and his closest friend, and sends him on a deadly journey. But cover-ups have a way of disintegrating over time, especially when someone like Thorn is pounding on the door. Magic City is an epic crime thriller exposing the past of a city in a time capsule of a novel.

Don't Miss It

"Life is a great and wondrous mystery, and the only thing we know that we have for sure is what is right here right now. Don't miss it." - Leo Buscaglia

Merry Christmas

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." - Norman Vincent Peale

A Christmas List

A CHRISTMAS LIST

I have a list of people I know, all written in a book

And every year at Christmas time I go and take a look

And that is when I realize that these names are a part

Not of the book they’re written in, but mostly of my heart

For each name stands for someone who has crossed my path sometime

And in that meeting they’ve become the rhythm of the rhyme

And while it sounds fantastic for me to make this claim

I really feel I am composed of each and every name

And while you may not be aware of any special link

Just meeting you has shaped my life more than you might think

For once you’ve met somebody, the years cannot erase

The memory of a pleasant word or of a friendly face

So never think my Christmas wish is just a mere routine

Of names upon a Christmas list, forgotten in between

For when I send a Christmas card that is addressed to you

It’s because you’re on that list of people I’m indebted to

For I am but a total of the people I have met

And you happen to be one of those I prefer not to forget

And whether I have known you for many years or few

In some way you have had a part in shaping things I do

So every year when Christmas comes I realize anew

The biggest gift that life can bring is meeting friends like you.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Handle With Prayer

"Life is fragile, handle with prayer." - unknown

Casino Royale

I watched the DVD "Casino Royale."

Synopsis

Daniel Craig stars as "007" James Bond, the smoothest, sexiest, most lethal agent on Her Majesty's Secret Service in "Casino Royale." Based on the first Bond book written by Ian Fleming, the story, which has never been told on film until now, recounts the making of the world's greatest secret agent. James Bond's first "007" mission leads him to Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), banker to the world's terrorists. In order to stop him, and bring down the terrorist network, Bond must beat Le Chiffre in a high-stakes poker game at Casino Royale. Bond is initially annoyed when a beautiful British Treasury official, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), is assigned to deliver his stake for the game and watch over the government's money. But, as Bond and Vesper survive a series of lethal attacks by Le Chiffre and his henchmen, a mutual attraction develops leading them both into further danger and events that will shape Bond's life forever.

Because I Said So

We watched the DVD "Because I Said So."

Synopsis

Daphne Wilder (Diane Keaton) is a mother whose love knows no bounds or boundaries. She is the proud mom of three daughters: stable psychologist Maggie, sexy and irreverent Mae and insecure, adorable Milly (Mandy Moore) - who, when it comes to men, is like psychotic flypaper. In order to prevent her youngest from making the same mistakes she did, Daphne decides to set Milly up with the perfect man. Little does Milly know, however, that her mom placed an ad in the on-line personals to find him. Comic mayhem unfolds as Daphne continues to do the wrong thing for the right reasons all in the name of love. In a battle of strong wills, the mother-daughter dynamic is tested in all its fierce, wacky complexity. The girls help Daphne finally discover the truths and impossibilities of motherly love, all while trying to answer the questions: where does it begin and where should it end?

Laughter

"Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face." - Victor Hugo

Winter

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." - Rogers Hornsby

Willing To Do It

"What you have to do and the way you have to do it is incredibly simple. Whether you are willing to do it, that's another matter." - Peter Drucker

Joy

"Joy is the simplest form of gratitude." - Karl Barth

If You Don't Know Where You're Going

"If you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else." — Lawrence J. Peter

Depend On God

"Don't depend on luck. Depend on God." - Norman Vincent Peale

Think

"Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!" — Dr. Seuss

Christmas With The Kranks

We watched "Christmas With The Kranks" based on the book "Skipping Christmas" by John Grisham.

Synopsis

After faithfully and happily celebrating Christmas their entire lives, and with their daughter Blair in Peru to serve a stint in the Peace Corps, Luther (Tim Allen) and Nora Krank (Jamie Lee Curtis)are facing the prospect of a very lonely holiday. One blustery Chicago night, Luther glances longingly at an alluring poster in a travel agency window and pictures himself and Nora basking in the glow of the sun on a Caribbean cruise. Though Nora is at first reluctant about going away for the holidays, she soon warms up to the idea. But when their neighbors find out, they are aghast, especially local busybody Vic Frohmeyer (Dan Aykroyd). To make matters worse, Luther refuses to put his illuminated Frosty the Snowman on his rooftop. Hemlock Street is famous for it and has won numerous contests sponsored by the local newspaper. The battle of wits between the Kranks and their neighbors quickly escalates, threatening the harmony of the community and, yes, the spirit of Christmas itself. Then, without warning, Luther and Nora get a call from Blair. She is coming home for Christmas afterall and now the Kranks have less than twenty-four hours to get themselves and all the families on Hemlock Street back in the proper Christmas spirit.

Come Early Morning

We watched the DVD "Come Early Morning."

Synopsis

In a small town near Little Rock, Arkansas, Lucy Fowler(Ashley Judd) works hard for a construction firm. On the weekends she drinks heavily and goes home with someone new and come early morning, she wakes up and leaves as fast as she can. She cares a lot about her family and her father, a former guitarist who also drinks heavily. He's newly back in town and is a painfully shy man who has nothing to say to her. She does start to go to church with him about the same time that she starts a relationship with Cal Percell (Jeffrey Donovan), new in town and a good guy. She goes through a transformation and kisses him sober but still has demons to confront. A combination of events helps her realize she is not her father.

The Successor

I finished reading "The Successor" by Stephen Frey.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Make-or-break decisions involving millions of dollars are all in a day’s work for Christian Gillette, chairman of Everest Capital, New York’s most renowned private equity firm. He’s taken on the toughest, most powerful, and often most dangerous adversaries and prevailed–all the while honing his skill for being cool under fire, literally. But now Gillette will be put to the ultimate test. He’s offered the chance to seal a deal unlike any other, one that goes beyond boardrooms, balance sheets, and even Everest itself–one that will leave its mark on history. Gillette is no stranger to Jesse Wood, the first African American president of the United States, having been Wood’s chosen running mate in his historic bid for the White House. Though still slightly upset over being dropped from the ticket at the eleventh hour, Gillette’s not about to ignore the chief executive’s summons to a top-secret meeting at Camp David. There, Wood drops a bombshell: The president of Cuba is dead. Cuba’s communist regime has kept the dictator’s demise hush while it races to fill the power vacuum. And the United States is poised to support a cabal of Cuban professionals plotting a coup. The President wants Gillette to meet with the conspirators and size up the chances for a successful capitalist revolution. But by no means can his mission be traced back to the White House. If anything goes wrong, Gillette is on his own. And if certain people have their way, something will go wrong. For the conspiracy to liberate Cuba isn’t the only one afoot. Enemies in high places, who will go to any lengths to wreak revenge on Gillette and to unseat President Wood, have set in motion a campaign of deception, sabotage, and murder whose shockwaves will resonate from the streets of Havana to the Oval Office. But for Gillette, who has just named his alluring and ambitious protégé, Allison Wallace, as his successor at Everest, the greatest peril may lie much closer to home.

The Basic Goal-Reaching Principle

"The basic goal-reaching principle is to understand that you go as far as you can see, and when you get there you will always be able to see farther." - Zig Ziglar

If

"If you recline, you decline. If you sit, you quit. If you don't use it, you will lose it." - Denise Austin

All Our Dreams Can Come True

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." — Walt Disney

Zorro, The Gay Blade

I watched "Zorro, The Gay Blade." It was recommended by a couple of co-workers. It was made in 1981.

Synopsis

The charming and womanizing Don Diego Vega (George Hamilton) is summoned by his father to return home from Spain. When he arrives in California, however, he learns the sad news that his father has been killed in a riding accident and that his childhood friend Esteban (Ron Leibman) has taken his father's place as Alcalde. Before long, Esteban shows his true, greedy nature, taxing the poor peasants for his own gain. Also newly arrived in Los Angeles is the lovely Charlotte Taylor Wilson (Lauren Hutton), a crusading New Englander who has come to encourage the peasants to rebel against the landowners. Although Diego is fascinated by her, she finds him arrogant. Finding his father's costume and will, Don Diego learns that his father was the legendary hero of the people, Zorro. Diego decides to dress in the costume for the Alcalde's inaugural masquerade ball. On the way, he and his servant Paco (Donovan Scott) happen upon a peasant being victimized by the tax collector, Velazquez (James Booth). Diego fights Velazquez, returns the money to the peasants and heads to the party. Velazquez, meanwhile, rides to the party to report to the Alcalde that a bandit has stolen the people's taxes. When he identifies the masked Diego as the thief, Esteban challenges Zorro to a duel. Zorro makes a fool of the Alcalde and escapes but breaks his foot in the process. Out of commission due to his injury, Diego can do nothing to help the people as Esteban becomes more and more ruthless in his pursuit of gold. Enter Diego's twin brother, Ramon (also played by George Hamilton). Ramon, who now calls himself Bunny Wigglesworth, has just returned from the Royal Navy. Bunny reluctantly accepts the role of Zorro, but he insists on making changes to the costume; he adds fringe and tassels to the hat, makes multi-colored variations to the fabrics and exchanges the sword for a whip. As Diego recovers, his gay brother becomes champion of the peasants and tries to manage Charlotte Taylor Wilson who loves Zorro but sees Diego as an adversary. The Alcalde and landowners are infuriated and bewildered by Zorro's interference in their business and by his new clothes and different behavior. Meanwhile, the Alcalde's neglected wife, Florinda (Brenda Vaccaro), convinces her husband to throw another masquerade ball to show off her extravagant new necklace. Finally healed, Diego decides to go. To throw Esteban off his trail, Diego sends fake notes to all the landowners, telling them that the Alcalde wishes everyone to dress like Zorro. Dressed in the traditional black costume, Diego attends the masquerade with Bunny dressed in drag as Diego's female cousin Margarita. Together, the brothers steal the necklace. Bunny then leaves Los Angeles to return to the Royal Navy. Still dressed as Zorro, Diego rushes off to Charlotte Taylor Wilson to give her the necklace and to reveal his true identity, but she beats him to it. She tells him that she loves him, and that she had already figured out that he was Zorro. Their conversation, however, is overheard by a spy who tells the Alcalde that Charlotte can be used as bait to trap Zorro. Esteban arrests Charlotte and sentences her to a public execution. Disguised as a monk, Zorro sneaks into the palace and offers his own life in exchange for hers. Just as Diego is about to executed by the firing squad, his brother swings into the courtyard, dressed in a yellow Zorro costume. Bunny frees Diego and Charlotte, and they rally the peasant crowd to fight the soldiers who eventually turn against the Alcalde as well. In the end, even Florinda abandons Esteban who is overthrown. At last, Bunny rides off into the sunset, leaving his brother and Charlotte to discuss their impending wedding and plans for the future.

I Think I Love My Wife

I watched the DVD "I Think I Love My Wife."

Synopsis

A successful investment banker with a beautiful, intelligent wife and two gorgeous kids at home, Richard Cooper (Chris Rock) would seem to have it all. Between the daily commute from the suburbs to New York City, the endless business meetings, the kids' diapers, however, there's only one thing on Richard's mind: women. The women he sees on the commuter train in the morning, the women who walk the streets of Manhattan, the women he fantasizes about in order to alleviate the boredom of his mundane, routine life. Happily married to Brenda (Gina Torres), Richard has no intention of cheating, until an old friend, the stunning Nikki (Kerry Washington), appears at Richard's office door, asking for help in landing a job. During lulls in his workday, Richard starts to meet Nikki for late lunches, and his conventional life begins to turn upside down.

Never Been Kissed

We watched the DVD "Never Been Kissed."

Synopsis

Josie Gellar (Drew Barrymore), is a smart copy editor for the Chicago Sun Times. She desperately wants to be a reporter and one day her wish comes true. She is sent undercover to her old high school to find out about what teenagers are like. Josie has some painful memories, when she was in high school she was a geek with braces who was called Josie Grossie. She was humiliated on her prom night by the guy she had a crush on. Josie sees her assignment as an opportunity to correct the mistakes she made in high school. She gets a make over, and with the help of her brother who was popular in high school, becomes friends with the popular girls. (One of them is a young Jessica Alba) However Josie's life hits rock bottom when she is told to do her story on her English teacher, who she has fallen for. She now has to decide whether to be true to her dream of being a reporter or true to her heart.

Best Cures

"A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book." — Irish Proverb

True Friends

"True friends are those who, when you make a fool of yourself, don't believe that this condition is permanent." — Erwin T. Randall

Happiness

"Happiness is never stopping to think if you are." — Palmer Sondreal

Who You Think You're Not

"It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not." — Anonymous

Our Greatest Glory

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - Confucius

Today

"Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one." - Dr. Seuss